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Crohn's and miscarriage

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/23/2012 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 10 weeks pregnant and absolutely terrified about losing my baby. I've been having a "flare" (going 6-10x/day rather than my usual 3-4) since I found out I was pregnant, and the symptoms have varied in severity over the past 6 weeks. I'm on Humira, and my doctor is considering prednisone to try to calm the flare down.

I saw the baby's heartbeat at 7 1/2 weeks, and I know that lowers the risk of miscarrying, but I'm so worried my body isn't getting nutrients to the baby because of the Crohns. I've read that women with active Crohns have a higher risk of miscarrying...which of course has me in a panic. I'm just so terrified I'm going to go in my next visit and they're going to tell me that my baby stopped growing.

Any women who have flared in early pregnancy go on to have healthy babies? Anyone go on prednisone during the first tri?
Posted 1/23/2012 2:23 PM (GMT 0)
{{{{HUGS}}} sickychicky - congrats on your pregnancy! I'm sorry you're flaring though, and I hope you start feeling better soon. Many people use prednisone during pregnancy, and if that's what it takes to get you better then you should absolutely do it. In both of my pregnancies I had a bad asthma flare and ended up on pred (5 day burst protocol), plus using my steroid inhaler and bronchodialator. Oxygen is pretty important for moms and babies! And you know that nutrition is important to you and the baby too.

Whatever the statistics are about miscarriage rates in Crohn's patients, every single woman who's been pregnant is terrified about miscarriage in the first trimester. You have a couple more weeks to go to get over the biggest risk period, but as you already know having seen a heartbeat makes your odds of a successful pregnancy much better. Take some deep breaths and hang in there.
Posted 1/23/2012 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats on your pregnancy. I just wanted to tell you my story. When I was diagnosed in 1999 I was in my very fist and very worst flare I have had. I was 83 pounds and was going to the bathroom 30 times a day. The doc told me there was no way I could be pregnant due to the fact I stopped having periods from malnutrition. Well I was pregnant. I was on Remicade at the time and they stopped it because not much was known about it then. I had very bad fistulas that had to be lanced 3 different time at the beginning. I was on a high dose of prednisone my entire pregnancy. And I felt great during my pregnancy because my flare calmed down. My GI said that it's because your body knows that it needs to be healthy for your baby. And I now have a beautiful almost 12yr old daughter and she is my smartest child I have out of the 5. I was so scared about the meds doing something to her but they didn't. My GI calls her the our Remicade baby. So I know you don't feel well but relax and don't stress over it because that will just make it worse.
I wish you all the luck and really hope you start to feel better and have a wonderful pregnancy.
Jennifer
Posted 1/23/2012 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi sickychicky.  Congratulations on your pregnancy.  Just to share my story, before I found out I was pregnant with my son I was just newly diagnosed and was flaring hard core.  I was put on prednison, 6mp, and azulfadine.  After I found out I was expecting my GI doc changed my meds to just azulfadine and prednisone.  I was not on prednisone during the entire pregnancy only the first few weeks.  Thankfully the Crohn's seemed to get better during the pregnancy.  It was only really the last 4 to 6 weeks that I started to flare.  I had a regular vaginal delivery and delivered a healthy 8lb 4 oz baby boy.  He is now going to be 8 yrs old this year and he is still a very healthy and happy little man smilewinkgrin    Don't stress out about the meds b/c if you want a healthy baby you need a healthy mommy.  Don't worry, relax and enjoy the ride.  Everything will turn out great :-)
Posted 1/23/2012 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thank You all so much for your responses. It's so hard not to worry, but reading your stories has helped. I am going to go on prednisone starting today. Hopefully it makes a difference!
Posted 1/23/2012 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
Congrats on your pregnancy! Your worry is understandable, but try not to let it get the best of you. I "flared" with babies #1 & #3. I was so sick all the way through the first trimester. I thought for sure I was flaring, but it turned out to just be pregnancy hormones. I'm hoping that is the case for you. I took prednisone from conception all the way through breastfeeding for all 3 of my pregnancies. The risk with prednisone is that in *HIGH* doses it can cause cleft palate. The palate forms somewhere between weeks 4-7 of the pregnancy, so you are in the clear as far as that goes. I hopes that puts your mind at ease a little bit. If the prednisone will help you then I don't think you should worry too much about it hurting the baby. I took all of my meds throughout pregnancy and all 3 of my kiddos are healthy and smart.

I hope that you feel better soon. I think it's very possible that in the next 4 weeks things will start to die down a little as far as your flare goes. Hang in there!
Posted 1/23/2012 5:07 PM (GMT 0)
Try not to worry to much. I flared almost my entire 1st pregnancy was on imuran and petasa at the time and had a healthy baby girl. The first three months were the worst then it calmed down a bit. Just try to eat as much of what doesn't cause you as many issues. Does your OB know much about CD? Mine was great! She researched my meds and CD with pregnancy and interacted with my GI often to make sure that she covered my risks. She just watched me more closely and I got more pics of my kiddo:) Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Posted 1/24/2012 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
Thanksodor your stories - I started prednisone today - 20mg taper. Hopefully that's all it takes to calm this flare down.
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